The Homecoming
by Glass Wolf
Summary: This is the sequel to The Visitors. It deals with the dimensionally displaced Swat kats finally returning to their home. How their arrival affects the folks left behind and how they deal with not only finally being home but how things have changed.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Swat Kats They belong to Hanna Barbara and whoever owns Hanna Barbara now. I am just borrowing them for my own and possibly the enjoyment of other fans.

Notes: This is a Sequel to the Visitors. It deals with the displaced pair of Swat Kats finally returning to their original world and learning how things have changed in the three years they have been away and the consequences of their return for the people they left behind.

This takes place two years after their meeting with the "real" Swat kats in The Visitors.

The Original ending I had planned for the Visitors involved the epilogue showing them finally getting home. I decided that was too happy coincidence but I still wanted to write the story of their homecoming and this is the result.

Warning for Jake/Chance pairing and Callie/(It's a surprise but you'll know by the end of the prologue). There will also be mentions of off screen character death during the time they were away. Read at your own risk.

July 4th re posted to fix some minor errors. Missing words and typos and such. Thanks Ulyferal for pointing out there were some missing words.

Swat Kats: The Homecoming

Prologue

She sat behind her desk after another long day. She was thinking about the past and how pleased she was at the progress they had made. They were making Megakat city something to be proud of again. It was hard to believe sometimes that a year had passed since she had taken over as Mayor during the emergency election following Manx's retirement. The last two years of Manx's tenure as mayor had been marred by one disaster after another. The city had been unprepared for the sudden disappearance of the Swat Kats and their jet. She still recalled the cold terror she'd felt when she called and called and they never answered or came.

It had been just two weeks later when the communicator had buzzed and to her horror it was Feral on the other end. That had been more than three years ago today. She could still hear him stating that they needed to talk when he'd heard her voice answering the communicator excitedly. The entire story had come out shortly after that and she'd lost her position as deputy mayor. Mayor Manx had granted her amnesty from any possible criminal charges that could result from her association with the Swat Kats but he hadn't been able to save her career.

She'd been convinced she'd never work in politics again and had been shocked when Commander Feral had offered her a position in the enforcers. He'd hired her as a budget consultant and made it clear to her that he expected her to use her knowledge of how Manx and the city government worked to get the Enforcers the funding they needed. Her new position at the Enforcers had caused some controversy and she'd had a rough go of it at first. Still for a few months they held the city together and the Enforcer's managed to respond to each threat that showed up.

She'd noticed it took them longer and caused a greater loss of life but with each threat that they turned away. She had begun to be convinced that perhaps Feral was right and the city didn't need the Swat Kats. Of course, their success hadn't lasted. The mayor had begun to loudly complain about what it was costing the city to keep fighting off these threats and there was the massive spike in the more small scale criminal activities. It was taking so much effort in man power and equipment to drive off the gigantic threats that seemed to pop up almost weekly that there wasn't much left over for handling the less sophisticated threats.

They had done everything they could to keep things under control but by the time Dark Kat unleashed his final attack on the city two years ago the Enforcers had been stretched to the breaking point. There was no need to think about that disaster it had left the Enforcers in shambles and while Dark Kat was gone for good it didn't undue the damage he'd done.

The next year had been filled with turmoil and angry cries for the Mayor's resignation. Manx had finally announced he was stepping down and emergency elections were held to fill the remainder of his term a month later. She hadn't planned on running but her husband and other Enforcer higher ups had insisted as none of the other potential candidates really understood what it would take to fix the city. She hadn't expected to win given her long time connection to Mayor Manx and the fact she'd been fired as deputy mayor for helping illegal vigilantes' in their activities. She had been well and truly stunned when she had been elected by a huge margin.

She had dedicated herself to making the city worth something again and for the most part succeeded. The Enforcers were well funded, crime and unemployment rates were falling steadily. Things were looking up for the first time in a long while so she knew she should be at home with her husband. She should be enjoying the fact they no longer had to work long shifts to keep things under control.

Of course instead she was sitting here brooding about the past all because an old woman kept calling the Mayor's office today insisting that she saw the Turbokat appear over her garden. She wanted the city to replace her scarecrow that had been knocked over by the jet wash. When they had first vanished, Turbokat sightings were frighteningly common mostly by folks who wanted to get on television. There hadn't been any in months and to most folks what happened to the Swat Kats was just one of those mysteries that would never be solved. She had personally given up trying to find out what happened to them nearly two years ago. However, There was something about the little old woman's story though that seemed different to her. She found herself wondering what she'd do if by some impossible chance they really did show back up.

XXXX

"Okay Jake, what did you find out at the library?" Chance asked as his lover got back form checking to see if this world could possibly be their home. They'd already seen that the garage was abandoned and closed up so they went with their usual back up plan one of them would check the library. Reading the newspaper archives to see if this could possibly be their home. He'd have gone with Jake but a few bad experiences had taught them not to leave their Turbokat unguarded.

"The time line matches we didn't show up to answer a call for help about three days after the storm that started all this and our identities are now public knowledge," Jake said tiredly. "There's no mention of the book we left behind for Callie so if this is home, then it was never made public." He looked away suddenly, "We will have to contact her and find out if this is our home."

"Is she still the deputy Mayor?" He asked his friend wondering how things had changed. "Do you think this is our Callie and that we are finally home?" He saw Razor frown and he felt disappointed. "You don't think it is our home?"

"I'm not sure everything matches how I remember it," he said. "I looked up old headlines and it's exactly how I remember it, the battles that we fought all of it but this Callie is mayor now and married." He looked away, "I can't picture our Callie married to this guy no matter how hard I try."

"Well spit it out Jake, who is it?" He asked feeling a sense of dread. Callie had been single when they'd left home. He was surprised to hear she was Mayor now. He'd thought she was happy in the deputy mayor slot. He wondered if this Manx was dead as that was usually the cause of her becoming Mayor.

"She's married to Commander Tom Steele," Jake said after a moment. He found himself staring at his friend in shock. "They married shortly before she ran for office in an emergency election." He couldn't believe it this couldn't be their world they should just get in the jet and go. Something of what he was thinking must have been visible on his face because Jake said, "We have to know for sure Chance, we have to ask her if she's got that book."

He hated to admit it but Jake was right even though the thought of this being their Callie married to a kiss up like Steele was horrifying. They had to know for sure. He also had to admit he was slightly curious how Steele was in charge of the Enforcers the few worlds they'd seen him with Feral's job he hadn't done a very good job of it. "So how do you think we should contact her?"

"I don't know," Jake said tiredly. "But this time we aren't just going to go buzz the Mayor's office." He hated that Jake brought that up it had been the last world they'd had to ask Callie if she had the book. The result hadn't been pretty that Callie had blamed them for Manx's death and called out the Enforcers on them. They had learned their other selves weren't missing just in hiding after a fight had gone very badly and Manx had bought it in the crossfire.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer, notes and warnings on part one.

The Homecoming

Chapter One of Eight

She and her husband were both in the middle of getting dressed for the day when the phone rang. "Can you get it; I'm trying to find my left shoe," her husband said from across the room. She nodded and put down her brush to head for the phone.

"Hello, this is Mayor Brigs." She was expecting it to be either an emergency call for her, after all her husband would be paged if it was an enforcer emergency. She felt a bit of irritation when the caller didn't speak and was about to hang when they finally did.

"Callie, it's Razor." She nearly dropped the phone in shock. She pulled the receiver away from her head to stare at it in disgust. "Callie, are you there I need to ask you something it's important." A hauntingly familiar voice said from the speaker.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" She asked angrily once her initial shock had worn off. She had given up on hearing from the Swat Kats ever again. "If I find out who this is and how you got my private number I'll nail your hide to the wall."

"Callie, this really is Razor it's not a joke," the voice said. "I know it's hard to believe but it's important that you answer a question for us." She didn't know what to think it sounded so much like how she remembered his voice but it just couldn't be them. "Please Callie we've been trying to get home for a long time and we have to know if this is home or not."

"Callie, are you okay?" Her husband asked her. She turned to see him staring at her with a concerned look on his face. "What is it what's happened?" He must have thought something terrible had happened.

"I'm all right give me a minute please, Tom," she said to him quickly. Removing her hand from the phone speaker, she said simply. "Ask me the question?" She still wasn't sure what to believe but she'd let them ask whatever it was they wanted to ask.

"Did we leave a book addressed to you?" The voice asked and for the second time she nearly dropped the phone. The book that Commander Feral and recovered had been classified completely there was no way a simple prankster could know about it. The Enforcer commander feared it would make an unstable situation worse if word got out about its contents. "Callie, are you still there?"

"I'm here," She said glancing at her husband and seeing the concern on his face. "I don't know if you are really the Swat Kats or not," She heard Tom's gasp but she ignored him to continue. "But I will not answer that question over the phone if you really want to know meet me at Enforcer headquarters in two hours."

"Right, we'll see you at Enforcer headquarters then," the voice said. She thought for a moment that she heard T-bone in the background yelling about going to Enforcer headquarters as the line went dead.

"Callie, it can't be the Swat Kats they've been gone for three years now," Her husband said after she placed the phone in its cradle. "It has to be someone pulling a cruel prank; they won't turn up at headquarters." She wanted to believe him but they'd known about the book.

"Tom, they know about the book they left me," she said and saw his eyes widen. "I don't think it's really them but if by some impossibly slim chance it is, I had to try to set up a meeting." She could see understanding in her husbands eyes as he reached for the phone. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to have the Enforcers trace the call you received and send a forensics team to the location it was made from," he said. "Then I'm recalling Lt. Commander Feral from her vacation."

"She isn't going to like that," she said and saw him smile slightly as he placed the first call. She left him making the calls as she went back to her discarded brush. She didn't feel any drive to get ready but she had phone calls of her own to place.

XXXX

"I can't believe you agreed to us going to Enforcer headquarters," Chance said again as they went over the Turbokat to ensure it was in top form in case they had to fight their way free from the Enforcers if things went bad.

"There was no other choice we definitely left this Callie something," he said as he checked their weapon inventory. "She paused when I asked about it." He knew that didn't mean this was their world after all they'd met other Swat Kats who left books for their Callie though fortunately most had been different enough from theirs to easily learn it wasn't their world. "Besides, I'm sure this Callie won't have us arrested on sight."

"Yeah well what about her husband?" Chance said angrily from where he was running the pre-flight system checks. "There isn't any guarantee that the Enforcers themselves won't try to arrest us on sight."

"That's true," he said slowly. "Do you have any other idea on how we can find out for sure if this is home or not?" Chance didn't have an answer to that question so he stopped grumbling out loud. He had no doubt Chance was still furious and ranting in his own head but at least he'd stopped complaining loudly about it. "We should probably eat something before we go?" He suggested after a pause even though he personally didn't feel like eating anything.

Chance didn't speak for a while but he eventually said, "I guess you're right." He looked over at the food stored in the jet. "What do we have left?"

XXXX

Lt. Commander Felina Feral wasn't happy as she arrived at work after the emergency call that had awoken her. She had been planning to sleep in this morning and then visit her uncle later in the day. Her irritation left her as she took in the sight of Enforcers in what looked like a near panic as they rushed to carry out whatever orders they might have been given.

She decided not to stop anyone for information and instead headed directly for Steele's office. She hated to admit it but despite her uncle's view of the man he was an able administrator and had thankfully learned his lesson about letting the more qualified members of the Enforcers handled the field work. He handled the paperwork and politics she'd never quiet managed to learn to deal with and she handled the actual Enforcer operations it was a good system that suited them both.

As soon as she walked out of the elevator his secretary motioned for her to head inside. "Okay Steele what is going on here?" She asked as she saw him look up from his desk a dark look on his face.

"My wife received a phone call from someone claiming to be the Swat Kats this morning," he paused. "They will be here sometime within the next hour and thirty minutes." She tried to speak but found herself just staring at him. She couldn't believe it no one had seen the Swat Kats in years and everyone but her Uncle was convinced they were gone for good. She couldn't help but hear her uncle's voice repeating his theories about why the Swat Kats had vanished.

"I know it's hard to believe," Steele said calmly obviously reading the look on her face accurately. "However, according to Callie they knew about the book the one detail we never released to the press."

She hated thinking about that book she had been the one to find it and still hated the ugly truth it had revealed to her. "Assuming it really is them," she said pausing for just a second before asking the question she had to ask. "Are we welcoming them home or arresting them on sight for being vigilantes?" If her uncle was still in charge she'd know the answer but she had no idea what Steele's decision would be.

"We will be following the Mayor's lead on that Lt. Commander," he said with a frown. She could tell the possibility of his wife being reunited with her two vigilantes was worrying him. "However, if you feel that they pose any danger to any of our people put them down regardless of who they may or may not be." He looked away and then said, "No matter what my wife says if they are a threat deal with them."

"Yes sir," she began making plans. "I'll have our best people briefed and ready to go before they get here." He nodded as she turned and left she had people to call in she wanted the best on standby. She refused to think about what it could mean if the Swat Kats really were back as that would only distract her from what she had to do.

XXXX

He could tell his wife was extremely nervous as they stood on the airstrip flanked by guards. He'd have put his arm around her to help her calm down if they weren't in front of the troops. He glanced down at the book he was holding. He would have preferred to leave it locked up in the classified archives but his wife had asked him to bring it just in case. He could tell part of her really wanted this to be them and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He knew it was silly to be jealous of a pair of vigilantes he'd never really met but the fact was his wife had been extremely close to the pair and a small part of him had always wondered if she'd been more involved with them than she had told him. He was startled from his worrying by a shout from one of the other officers. He looked up to see a black jet descending. He had to admit it looked a great deal like the Turbokat he remembered.

A quick glance over at Lt. Commander Feral saw that she was just as shocked as he was but she was quickly directing her troops into place. He had to admire how easily she could put aside her emotions to do her job. It was why he'd never been suited for field work despite his ambitions. He turned to his wife to see her staring at the jet that had just finished landing in shock. "It's them it's really them," she said quietly under her breadth.

"Don't jump to conclusions," he said to her quickly. "It's possible this is a complicated plot by one of the many criminals in this city." He saw her nod but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was already half convinced that this was really the Swat Kats returning.

He held his breadth as the cockpit opened and someone who looked exactly like the smaller of the two Swat Kats jumped out. "Razor," his wife said starting to bolt forward. He tried to catch her shoulder but she was too fast. For the first time he hoped it really was one of the Swat Kats because his wife was way to close they never get to her in time if they were going to attack.

"Stop Callie," the Swat Kat said startling him. He could tell it surprised Callie too as she stopped midway between him and the Swat Kat. "I have to see that book because this may not really be our home."

"What do you mean by that?" Lt. Commander Feral said speaking up. He was pleased to see she'd moved to where she could get a clear shot at him. "If you really are Jake Clawson also known Razor then you should already know what's in that book."

"I know what should be in that book lieutenant," he said in a sad voice. "We won't know we are home for sure until we see what's in that book and if it matches up with the book we left behind." He sounded incredibly bitter.

He looked up to find his wife had walked over to him. "Tom, let me give them the book." He started to object but she put her hand on his arm and said, "please, trust me." He saw Lt. Commander Feral shaking her head no but he handed it over anyway. He could tell from his second in command's face she thought he was crazy but he trusted his wife's judgement.

He watched as his wife handed the book to the Swat Kat who began to flip through it. It was some time before he finally spoke and when he did it was quietly at first. "We're home," he said quietly and then louder. "Chance, get out here this is it we've finally made it home." He watched as the other Swat Kat who he'd completely forgotten about jumped out of the jet and took the book quickly from the other one. A quick glance at his second in command showed she was much calmer now and he assumed that unlike himself she hadn't forgotten there was still one in the jet.

He felt slightly foolish but he ignored it as now both Swat Kats seemed to be celebrating as if they never thought they'd be home again. He wasn't surprised to see his wife swept up in their celebration as well. He ignored the jealousy and the slight worry that maybe this was all still some incredibly complicated trap arranged by one of the many psychopaths that called Megakat city home.

He decided that they'd celebrated enough and it was time for some answers. "I have to ask the two of you now," he said bringing an end to the celebrating. "Where have you been for the last three years?"

He was surprised when the smaller one called Razor he remembered after a second stepped forward and pulled off his helmet and mask. "It's a long story commander," he said shaking his head and then as he looked up he smiled slightly. "And I'm not sure any of you are going to believe it."

To be continued...

I know it's been quiet a gap since I posted hte prologue and when I got around to finally uploading this first chapter. My time to write has taken a major hit so while I will finish this fic eventually there might be some big gaps between chapters depending on how much time I find myself having to work on it.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer, notes and warnings on part one.

The Homecoming

Chapter Two of Eight

His arm was still sore from where he'd had blood drawn by the various doctors on staff with the Enforcers. He wasn't surprised that they were being poked and prodded to ensure they really were who they said they were but it was still extremely irritating. He was still having a bit of trouble believing that they really were home despite seeing the book for himself.

Of course it was obvious from Commander Steele's face that the Enforcers were having their own trouble with their explanation for where they'd been the last few years. "I know it's hard to believe Commander," Jake said as the nurse was finishing taking his blood. "But we really have been bouncing around parallel worlds for the last three years trying to get home."

This was the one thing they'd never really figured out an answer for during their travels. How to explain to the folks back home exactly what had happened if they ever managed to reach home. In the other worlds they'd at least had doubles they could talk to prove their situation when they'd needed help.

"I want to believe you guys," Callie said speaking up. "But it just sounds so impossible even with the book of pictures." She then turned to look at Steele and he had to remind himself that Callie had married the jerk. "We can sort out all the details about where you've been later but for now we need to figure out what and when we tell the public about your return."

"We should hold off making any official announcements for a while," Steele said calmly. "This is going to send shockwaves throughout the entire city and we need to have the answers for the questions we are going to get."

"We also need to prepare for how the criminal element is going to react," Felina said from somewhere behind him. "There are still some out there who would love a shot at the Swat Kats." She wasn't finished as she spoke up again, "And there are going to be people like my Uncle calling for the two of them to be arrested and thrown in jail."

"You're right we need to prepare but we can't sit on this for too long," Callie said sounding sad. "Allegations of a cover up could do a lot of harm to the Enforcers and the city government." She looked directly at him then at Jake. "I have no intention of letting the two of you go to trial for anything but I have to warn you it might be unavoidable."

"We were already aware of that Callie," Jake said in a somber tone. "Believe me over the last three years we've discussed every possibility about how things would be if we ever got home." He wasn't going to correct Jake's half truth; they had talked about possibly going on trial or to jail but there were some things they had never talked about.

He could tell Callie was a bit surprised by their calm acceptance of the possibility of going on trial and possibly being sent to prison. He didn't know how to tell her that compared to the hell they'd lived through these last few years the idea of going to jail wasn't scary in the least. Of course there was also the fact he was sure there wasn't a prison that he and Jake couldn't bust out of so even if it happened they wouldn't be there long.

XXXX

She couldn't help but be unnerved by the smile that had appeared on Chance's face after Jake's surprising statement. She was finding it hard to believe how cavalier they were being about the potential problems ahead of them. A small part of her was starting to believe them as impossible as it sounded their attitude just didn't seem right otherwise. The rest of her however was having trouble with the implications of worlds that were similar but different. Something about the idea felt threatening to her value as an individual.

A quick glance at her husband revealed that he didn't know how to take any of this. She also got the impression he was feeling slightly threatened by the Swat Kats return. He had nothing to worry about their return didn't affect anything that had happened over the last three years.

"The more I think about it the more I'm convinced we should make the announcement tonight," Felina said shocking her from her thoughts. "It's a rush but if we wait word is going to get out anyway too many technicians, soldiers, doctors and scientist are involved for word not to leak out somehow."

"Is that going to give you time to prepare," She found herself asking both her husband and the Lt. Commander. She knew that it was the safest move to make politically since it would keep accusations of a cover up to a minimum but it might not be the most practical.

"We can recall everyone from personal leave and put the Enforcers on high alert but it might not be enough," Her husband said giving Felina an appraising look. "Well Lt. Commander can you keep the city safe if we end up with total chaos?"

"It'll be a stretch but I think we can manage," Felina then turned toward the Swat Kats and said. "I'm surprised the two of you aren't butting into things." She wished the lieutenant commander hadn't put it so harshly but she'd been wondering why they were staying out of it as well.

"Everyone here knows we aren't going to be the Swat Kats anymore," Jake said cooly. "We have no idea what the state of the city really is so we'll let those of you do make the plans." A quick glance at Chance showed he probably didn't agree but was keeping quiet.

"I'll go make the preparations for the press conference," she said as an excuse to leave. The Swat Kats in her memories were so much different than the Swat Kats she was faced with that it was making her uncomfortable. Once the joy of seeing them again had started to fade in the face of the problems their return was going to cause.

Once she was safely alone in an office it didn't take her long to arrange the press conference which left her with the prospect of what to tell the city about the reappearance of the Swat Kats. She couldn't tell them their explanation as no one in the city would buy it. "They really have been traveling through alternate worlds," a voice said from the corner.

She turned in shock to see a cloaked figure standing in the shadows. "You," she was surprised to see them again. "What are you doing here Past master?" She resisted the urge to call for help as this wasn't the monster who'd threatened her life so many times. "We haven't seen you since..." She broke off she couldn't continue not staring at the greatly changed woman before her.

"Since I took my predecessor's place," The cloaked figure said with a slight laugh. "I have been busy adjusting to my new lot in life." She felt a twinge of guilt at the fate that had befallen her one time friend.

"Why are you here, Abi?" She asked pushing the guilt about that terrible day out of her head. It wouldn't be a coincidence Abi showing back up just as the Swat Kats returned to the city. She only hoped that the former Doctor wasn't bringing more bad news.

XXXX

He wasn't surprised that after Callie left things got really awkward. "Is there an empty room we can stay in tonight?" He asked hoping for a little privacy where he and Chance could talk about things without too much chance of eavesdroppers. He had a very good idea that they weren't going to be allowed out of Enforcer headquarters anytime soon and didn't want to kick off a confrontation about that too early.

"I'm sure we can arrange something," Steele said turning to give him an appraising look. He found himself once again wondering how things could have possibly changed so much here at home while they were gone. He had no idea how Steele had ever managed to win the heart of someone like Callie.

He pushed those questions out of his mind and instead focused on Lt. Commander Feral. He got the distinct impression she was angry with the entire situation. He knew from her earlier comments that her Uncle was still alive which just raised several questions. "I was wondering what happened to Commander Feral?"

"He was forced to retire after serious injury in the line of duty," Felina said with a hint of anger. "I'm sure the two of you will be hearing from him soon." A quick glance at Chance showed that he was just as disturbed by her tone.

"Lieutenant, why don't you go make accommodation arrangements for our guest." Steele said breaking the tense silence. "I'll see to giving them a brief history less on everything that's happened since they've been gone."

Once Felina was gone Steele turned toward them and said quickly. "Don't mention her uncle again; it's a sore subject for Lt. Commander Feral." He was surprised that Steele was warning them. "You have no idea what kind of mess you've walked back into Swat Kats."

"Neither do you Tom," Callie said surprising them with her return. "I just got paid a visit by the past master with a warning that things are going to get much worse." He glanced over at Chance wondering what was going on.

"Sorry guys," Callie said after a moment realizing they didn't understand. "This isn't the past master you know." He could tell by her and Steele's faces that this wasn't a comfortable subject. "A few months after the two of you disappeared, he returned and we only survived because Dr. Sinian discovered a way to save the city and get rid of him for good." She looked away sadly. "It cost her everything and she had to take his place to truly rid of the world of him."

He wondered if they'd ever get caught up on exactly what had happened while they were away. "We really need that history less now, Steele," Chance said surprising him. He glanced over at his partner and then back to Steele who nodded slightly.

XXXX

He sat staring at the tv long after he'd grown tired of the talking heads debating the return of the Swat Kats. He'd known when Felina called him to inform him she wouldn't be visiting that it was an emergency but he'd never have imagined they had come out of hiding at last. He'd been expecting it, planning for it but he'd never guessed that was why she got called back.

He was bothered by the Mayor refusing to reveal specifics at this time about exactly where the cowards had been hiding. He knew they wouldn't be able to keep it secret forever public pressure would ensure they released those details soon but he needed to know now.

He grabbed his phone from the side table and quickly dialed his niece's direct line. "Hello Uncle," she said tiredly. "I've been expecting this call but you know I can't tell you anything."

"I understand Felina," He said proud of her for being true to her duty and not telling him restricted things. "I'll be back in Megakat City by tomorrow afternoon I want you to arrange a meeting between me and them." He could tell by the silence that she was trying to think of a way to dissuade him from coming. "I'll see you when I arrive, goodbye Felina."

To be continued...

Real life continues to be tumultuous so once again I have no idea how long the wait for the next part will be.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer notes and warnings on prologue.

The Homecoming

Chapter Three of Eight

"This world is more screwed up than I thought it would be partner," Chance said grimly once they were alone in the small room they had been provided with for the night. "I mean I knew there would be changes but I didn't expect to come home to this." He sat down on one of the twin beds and sighed. "Did you have any idea that it would be like this Jake?"

"I was expecting a lot worse myself," he admitted to Chance. He could tell it shocked him but he owed it to Chance to be honest. "I never had much faith in the Enforcers managing to keep things together while we were gone."

"People can surprise you," A voice said causing them both to jump and turn to stare into the dark corner where a large cloaked figure stood. "I'm just here to answer T-bone's question and then I'll be going."

"You're the new Pastmaster, aren't you?" He said glancing over at Chance to see him staring in shock at the figure. The figure nodded as she stepped further into the room and he suppressed a shudder as she saw Abi's familiar features set in red bone.

"Disturbing isn't it?" Abi said with a friendly tone. "I prefer to avoid looking in mirrors myself." She said pulling the hood up further to obscure her face. "Now about your question T-bone." He wondered why she'd mentioned for a second time Chance asking her a question.

"What question is that?" Chance asked warily. He could tell Chance was on edge by how the fur was sticking up a bit on the back of his neck. He knew his was doing the same and he found himself regretting turning over their weapons to the Enforcers.

"The question you've wanted to ask me, ever since learning that I am the Pastmaster now." She said sounding as if she was enjoying toying with them. "Perhaps in the shock of coming back to such a changed world you haven't thought of it yet."

He caught onto what she was hinting at just before Chance spoke up. "Can you go back in time and warn us so this never happened?" Chance asked and after she shook her head no he looked crushed.

"Can you at least take us back to shortly after we left so it's like we were never gone?" He found himself asking seeing Chance turn to stare at him. She seemed thoughtful for a moment and then also shook her head no.

"Why not?" Chance asked in a frustrated tone. "The last Pastmaster tried changing history often enough why can't you do it for us?" He was as angry as Chance but something about the way Abi was hanging her head made him think she wanted to help but couldn't.

"There are rules that I cannot violate," She said after a moment. "The previous pastmaster couldn't either that's why he only ever tried to alter time not just travel back in time to prevent his own imprisonment." She looked around. "I travel in separate time than you but my own life still has sequence and order my past cannot be changed in anyway and I have been to the future and seen you there." After that she smiled and said, "But cheer up I know you will rise to the occasion and make a better world."

"What do you mean by that?" His partner asked clearly annoyed however before she could respond there was a knock at the door and the Lt. Commander's voice saying she needed to talk to them.

"Come in, Felina" The Pastmaster called and didn't seem at all alarmed as Felina Feral charged in. "I'll take my leave now gentlemen as Felina has something very important to tell the two of you." Before any of them could react, she was gone.

"What did she want?" Felina demanded angrily. He could tell that Chance wasn't going to answer her so he quickly filled the Lieutenant in on what she'd said. "I came to tell you that my uncle will be arriving tomorrow and he wants to meet with the two of you."

"Thanks for the warning," Chance said and it was clear from her expression that she wasn't happy to be thanked. "Do you have a problem with us Lt. Feral?" His partner asked annoyance clear in his voice.

"Not officially," Felina said darkly. "If you'll excuse me, I have a great deal of work to do." He grabbed his partner's arm to keep him from following after her as she turned and exited the room quietly.

"Let it go Chance," He said quickly. "Whatever her problem with us is we don't need to deal with it now." He could feel how tense his lover was through his arm. "Let's just get some sleep and take it one day at a time."

XXXX

She couldn't help but feel that she was running away. She knew she had only left to avoid making a bad situation worse. She couldn't lay into them like she wanted because officially they were still in a legal limbo and she had to follow the Mayor and Steele's lead. She wouldn't hold her breadth about either of them doing the right thing and locking the two of them up.

The fact the past master had come out of the woodwork predicting trouble ahead only made things worse. The Enforcers had done their best to track down most of the old trouble makers but there were still a few at large who would probably jump at the chance to make trouble now that the Swat Kats were back.

At least she could eliminate Dark Kat and Dr. Viper from the potential trouble makers since both were currently rotting six feet under in a city grave yard. Of course even with them out of the picture there were plenty of others whose whereabouts were unknown. There were rumors of course but the final fate of so many of the old psychos was still unknown.

It was going to be impossible to figure out what direction this thread was going to be coming from. She turned her attention back to the visit the past master had made to the Swat Kats. She had to admit that based on what Razor had told her that it seemed Abi was being consistent. She'd asked the past master after the trouble with Dark Kat to send her back in time to warn everyone but the woman had refused for the same reason she apparently gave the Swat Kats. It was nice to know that the past master had been truthful about rules preventing her from changing her own history.

XXXX

"Hey Jake," he called to his partner who was laying on the other small bed in the room. "Do you think Abi was telling the truth about not being able to send us back to the past?" He turned to look back at the ceiling.

"Maybe," Jake said sounding tired. "It would explain why the original Pastmaster didn't just go back in time and dig himself up." He turned back toward Jake to see him looking at the door of the room. "I wonder why Felina is so pissed at us?"

"I don't know Jake," he said trying not to think about how different home actually was now. "I'm pretty sure we'll find out tomorrow when Feral shows up." He heard Jake groan and had to suppress a smile they had always joked about how bad facing Feral was going to be when they got home and now they were going to have to actually face him.

"He's never going to believe we've been to alternate worlds," Jake said laughing slightly. "I bet he'll show up convinced we've been hiding somewhere plotting something criminal." He found himself laughing along with Jake slightly. "I'm glad were laughing partner but I don't think tomorrow is going to be very fun at all."

"No, it isn't," He agreed. "I think maybe we should have just put all our cards on the table and asked for a room with a single large bed." He said turning to look over at his partner. Their relationship had still been new when they got lost among alternate worlds so they hadn't added details about it to the book they left behind yet.

"We could still call up Steele and ask if you want?" Jake said turning to face him. He shook his head no as Jake settled back down. They had both agreed to keep things quiet until exactly how they fit in back home was going to be made clear. "We definitely should tell Callie soon though," Jake said sounding tired.

"I agree partner," he said. The truth was they had been already been planning to let her know in their civilian identities before this all had happened. They'd just been searching for the right time since Callie seemed to have a crush on Jake. He turned back to staring at the ceiling reminded again of how different their home was now.

To be continued...

I didn't manage to finish the next reactions to go up with this one. It'll probably be at least two weeks before I manage to update any of my Swat Kats fics again unless I get a spare moment and really inspired.


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